A: Acupuncture is a 5,000 year old Chinese system of natural healing (no drugs...no surgery), which is concerned with restoring proper energy flow to the various organs, glands and tissues of the body on the premise that most diseases are the result of malfunction due to disrupted energies.

Explanations: The Chinese definition of Health is "All parts of the body functioning normally,". If there is an interruption in the transmission of energy flow or life force (called chi in Chinese), then organ malfunction, disease, pain and suffering may occur.

Q: Where does the interruption of energy flow occur?

A: In either or both locations:
(1) In the channels of energy flow, which are located throughout the body, just beneath the skin surface
(2) In the spinal column where vertebrae may become misaligned, thereby compressing vital nerve trunks.

Q: Are there other causes of disease besides those associated with the interference of the transmission of energy flow?

Note: The non-piercing needle (teishin) and electrical stimulation are very popular because the techniques are painless, there is no blood, no danger of infection, and results are equal to, if not better than other techniques.

Keep in mind that acupuncture is not like one drug used for one condition, but on the contrary, it is a complete healing art within itself, concerned with the systems of the body such as nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, eliminatory, reproductive, hormonal, musculoskeletal, etc., and seeks to correct health problems within those systems.

Q: Are spinal adjusting treatments necessary with acupuncture?

A: Absolutely. Spinal adjusting is part of acupuncture health care. World authorities, including Feliz Mann, M.D. of England; Paul Nogier, M.D. of France; and Kunzo Nagaymama, M.D. of Japan are very emphatic on this aspect of "getting well." Dr. Mann states that many internal diseases are cured by the spinal adjustment alone. Leaving the adjustment (chiropractic) out of the treatment plan invites failure.

Q: In Acupuncture (Meridian Therapy) are there other significant factors besides skin point stimulation and vertebral adjusting?

A: Meridian therapy is natural healing based on knowledge of another biological principal new only to the western world. Soviet scientists Novinski and Vorobiev have proven the premise of ancient Chinese healing by localizing meridian points with a Wheatstone bridge, using an alternating current to prevent polarization. This was fed by a generator of sonic frequency and recorded on a cathode ray oscillograph. When the electrode touched an active acupuncture point the amplitude of the wave on the oscillograph diminished. Best results were derived from frequencies of a few kilohertz and voltage from several millivolts to 4 volts. Research? The Russians have already done it.